People are increasingly utilizing portable computing devices to take pictures. High quality, high resolution images may be captured with a portable computing device equipped with a lens system, such as a movable lens system. The lens system may be controlled by an automatic lens focusing system, also referred to as an autofocus system. An autofocus system may determine one or more focus settings that may include an appropriate lens position or configuration that will result in a sharp and clearly focused image of an object or a situation. It is desirable to obtain the appropriate focus settings quickly in portable computing devices to conserve battery power, processing capacity, and to provide a good user experience that allows the user to quickly capture a well-focused image. While autofocus techniques exist, many are slow, wasting power, processing capability, and time. Other autofocus techniques may not adequately focus the lens quickly enough or accurately enough to provide a high quality, high resolution image.
Further, in order to obtain desirable images, portable computing devices may utilize an autofocus scan range algorithm to adjust the lens of the camera(s) capturing the image(s). In conventional approaches, the autofocus scan range algorithm may operate through several iterations to obtain a satisfactory setting for the present image conditions. Each iteration may use precious time, power, and processing capability of a computing device. The latency of each iteration may delay a user's ability to capture an image of an object or a situation subject to change or movement over time. The operation of multiple iterations consumes battery power and processing capability which may impact the overall performance of the portable computing device. Such factors may result in a poor user experience. A need, therefore, exists for optimized autofocus systems.